Port-au-Prince , Haiti -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In the central plaza , there was once an orgy of music , street dancing and revelry unmatched by any other nation in the Americas , Haitians say .

But where there was joy now sits a vast settlement of people left without loved ones , without homes , without life 's belongings .

Haitians have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships , military coups and bloodshed . Popular belief was that if a government failed to deliver on Carnival , Haiti 's equivalent of Mardi Gras , it was sure to fall , said Marie Laurence Lassegue , Haiti 's minister of culture and information .

But this year , the three-day festival has been canceled , another indication of the enormity of the earthquake 's devastation .

Musicians fell silent , seamstresses stopped sewing costumes and ghostly skeletons of unfinished floats lay scattered on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince . A month after the devastating January 12 earthquake , the Champs de Mars plaza is home to the capital 's displaced , where thousands of people have eked out a tiny space in which to survive .

Full coverage of the earthquake 's aftermath

`` This is the first time Carnival is not happening , '' said Roberto Martino , lead singer of popular Kompa band T-Vice . `` I do n't even think about music anymore . ''

Less than a week ahead of Carnival 's start on Sunday , revelry is replaced with mourning . The nation 's foremost concert producer , Charles Jubert , died . So did members of four bands who were practicing inside a studio that collapsed . Other musicians lost legs , arms and hands . They will not be able to play again .

`` I do n't think we have time to think of Carnival , '' Lassegue said . `` Maybe when we are finished crying . ''

Carnival 's three days of deliverance and celebration has tremendous importance in the lives of Haitians , Lassegue said . `` But this year ? I do n't even remember when it is . ''

Instead , the displaced are planning days of prayer .

`` We 're living in a city that 's like a cemetery , '' said Ronide Baduel , a nurse who lost her home and all her belongings in the quake . Her brother died and suddenly , she found herself far from her middle-class existence , relegated to a makeshift tent and burlap bags she uses for pillows at night .

`` I had four good walls around me . Now I have four sheets , '' she said . She goes to work with a big , black faux-leather purse containing toothpaste , soap and a change of underwear . There , she can bathe properly .

`` We do n't know how many days , how many months , how long we will be this way , '' she said . `` I am always stressed . It 's like living in a jungle . How can I dance at Carnival ? ''

Baduel and her tent community neighbors said the money that would have been spent on Carnival ought to be used to build housing .

Nearby , the 44 members of Relax Band , who normally would be revving up their street performances in the days before Carnival , worried about their next meal .

They played the Sunday before the earthquake , marching through the streets , getting ready for the big performance . Now , everything was gone , - including all their instruments that were crushed when band coordinator Ernst Beauvais ' house collapsed .

A small stage emblazoned with the red and white logo of Relax Band now harbors a massive water bladder tank dropped off by an aid group and a few mattresses for slumber under the stars .

`` It is one of the greatest tragedies to befall our country , '' Beauvais said , pointing to the rubble of his house . He said it was the street band 's 30th anniversary ; the musicians were looking forward to showcasing their new song . Almost every band in Haiti debuts new pieces at Carnival .

On the outskirts of town , the skeletons of three floats sit like ghosts , reminders of what might have come next week .

One of the floats belongs to T-Vice .

Bandmates Roberto Martino and Eddy Viau would have been practicing with the rest of the band for their Carnival performance - -- it 's an honor to win top prize .

`` If you have a good showing at Carnival , you 're set for the rest of the year , '' Martino said . This year , the band had planned a soccer-themed show with a song called `` The End of the Match . ''

Instead it recently released `` Nou Pap Lage '' -LRB- We Wo n't Give Up '' -RRB- , dedicated to the victims of the earthquake .

iReport : Looking for loved ones in Haiti

Martino tried to sing a few verses . `` There are so many things going through my head , '' he said . Overcome by emotion , he had to compose himself and start again .

`` People are saying Haiti is finished , but no , no , no , we will rise up , '' he sang softly . `` We will strive . We will rebuild Haiti . We will stand united . ''

`` Do n't be discouraged . There will be light at the end of the tunnel . My Haitian people . I will not let go . ''

Proceeds from downloads of the song are going to the nonprofit organizations Sow A Seed and MedShare . Music , Martino said , was so essential to Haitian life . But he did n't know when this rare silence would end ; when he would be able to write lyrics , put them to melody .

`` We 're all so traumatized , '' he said . Carnival , he said , was Haiti 's musical showcase . `` We 've lost our biggest tradition . Carnival was part of us . ''

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Less than week ahead of Haiti 's Carnival celebration , revelry replaced with mourning

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Haitians have celebrated Carnival through dictatorships , military coups and bloodshed

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`` I do n't even remember when it is , '' Haiti official says about upcoming three-day festival